01 The Gift of Faith

One of the most puzzling questions in life is “Why is it that some people believe in God and others do not?” We have all had experiences where we have known someone who seemed so dedicated to their faith only for them to stop practicing later and we have all also witnessed people who were confirmed atheists and agnostics all of sudden become ardent believers.

The Catholic Church teaches above all that faith is a spiritual gift from God and there is nothing that we can do to earn faith. The Catholic Church tough teaches also that God gives this gift in one form or another to all. The question therefore is not whether or God will us the gift of faith but rather what can we do to better prepare ourselves to receive this gift in its entirety.

An analogy might so something like this. A young boy goes to his grandparents’ house for his birthday. He already knows that he is getting a bicycle from his grandparents for his birthday and so he is very excited. When he arrives at his grandparents’ home he received his bike and rode it around his grandparents’ neighborhood for hours. It was only later in the day did he realize that there was going to be a problem. His parents did not bring a car large enough in which to take the bicycle home with them. The boy received the gift but he was not disposed to take full possession of the gift.

Fr. Benedict Groeschel in his book: Stumbling Blocks and Steeping Stones: Spiritual Answers to Psychological Questions lists six things that people do that leave them ill prepared to accept God’s gift of faith fully. The six attitudes are secularism, silly religion, simony, immature faith, doubts, and arrogance of intellect. Let us take a closer look at each of these.

Secularism: Fr. Benedict Groeschel defines secularism as the idea that religion is recreational. If a person does not integrate one’s faith into every aspect of their lives and only practices it when he or she has time for it or when he or she wants to practice the faith. Think of the story of the seed that fell on the rocky path and among the thorns. Our faith life must pervade our whole life if it is to take root and be deep enough in times of crisis.

1. Consider talking to someone(s) who in your opinion takes their faith seriously and ask them why their faith is so important to them?

2. Make a commitment to celebrate your faith fully even when it is inconvenient like on vacation, etc. Often when we make sacrifices for something, it helps remind us how important something is to us.

3. Get involved in a parish organization where you can use some of your talents for the good of the community. Faith should touch all aspects of our lives and not simply be reserved for Church services.

Silly Religion: The second thing Fr. Benedict Groeschel focuses on is what he calls “silly religion.” I refer to it more as “ego-based faith.” When a person practices his or her faith in an attempt to get attention and praise from others he or she often neglect essentials part of the faith like prayer. They may be very active members of their Church but they do not take the time to get to know God and once they are no longer getting attention or they find a new way to impress people they leave the Church.

1. I think from time to times we can all find ourselves practicing either one of these two things. It is important that when we do catch ourselves doing these things that we work extra hard to solidify our relationship with God through prayer and to do some acts of penance that no one can see.

2. Take the time to thank one or two other people for the work that they do for the Church.

3. Put something spiritual on top of your to do list each day.

Simony: The term “simony” in the Middle Ages referred to the problem of bishops paying the pope in order to become a bishop of a more financially secure diocese. This problem in the Church has thankfully been resolved and is in the Church’s past. Fr. Groeschel uses this term to name the phenomenon of people placing too much faith in a human person in the Church.

The problem of simony, as Fr. Groeschel describes it, is a widespread problem in our Church. It demonstrates itself most obviously when people threaten to leave the Church because they do not like the way something is being done or a person in a leadership position. How many times have you heard of people leaving the Church because of this priest or that person? They have overlooked that at the heart of our faith is Jesus Christ and not the person they are mad at. St. Augustine once said “The Church is a hospital for sinners not a hotel for saints.” There was only one perfect person in our Church that is Jesus Christ and He is the center of our faith.

Immature Faith: As people grow up they gain an image of God in childhood. They build this image from what their parents, teachers, priests, friends, etc both say and model to them. Developing this image is a part of healthy mental and spiritual growth. The problem comes in the fact that as we enter into adolescents and adulthood, we need to move beyond this image and come to understand that God is much more than we can ever imagine. This can only happen through prayer as we personally develop a deeper relationship with God we begin to understand that there is more to who God is than anyone can tell us.

1. What is your image of God? Do you see God as a judge, friend, etc.

2. Take some time to read Sacred Scripture especially the Gospel to learn more about who Jesus is. Try to read them as if it was for the first time.

3. Talk to others about who God is to them

Doubts: Doubts by themselves can be a good thing and can help one’s faith grow if they are address in the proper way. The problem with doubts is that they can build up if we do not address them and eventually they can flood out any remnants of faith. Remember that the Catholic Church has many ways in which to learn about one’s faith but there are also many within the Church who claim to teach what the Church teaches but in reality are pushing their own agendas.

1. Talk to your parish priest about your doubts. You wouldn’t go to your mechanic to talk about medical issues so why would you simply talk to your friends about a serious issue to your faith.

2. Take time to study one’s faith. I recommend reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church and checking out Fr. Bob Barron’s website www.wordonfire.org

3. Take some time to do some spiritual reading.

Arrogance of intellect: There seems to be a belief that is growing in our society that human beings always make the right choice. I think that this is happening because no one wants to admit they might be wrong and no one wants to confront another’s beliefs. All we have to do tough is look at the world around us and see that we human beings do not always do what is right. God gave us free will to decide to do good or bad but not to decide whether our choices are good or bad. Think of the Chaos that would emerge in the world if everyone could decide what was right and what was wrong. How could we hold anyone accountable for his or her actions?

1. Take time to daily examination of conscience.

2. Take time to pray to ask God for guidance in life’s decisions. Remind yourself that God really wants what is best for you.

3. Take time to join an accountability group or a prayer group. Good friends will always keep us humble in a way that does not burry our self-esteem but rather shows us that others are here to help us become better people.

02 Ten Ways to Invest in Your Faith

1. Prayer At the center of our faith is not a set of rules or a pathway to enlightenment but rather a God who wishes to have a personal relationship with Him. Prayer communicating with this God who desires to be in relationship is never wasted. While we should always heed the voice of St. Ignatius of Loyola who said “pray as you can and not as your can’t”, we should also never be afraid to add another prayer style to our repertoire. Like a major league baseball pitcher who adds a sinker ball to his fastball and curveball in order to become a better pitcher. Some great things to add to your repertoire could be Eucharistic Adoration (a small note hear, Jesus does not have to be out of the tabernacle for you to adore Him), Lexio Divina (praying with the Scriptures) especially with the readings of the day, trying centering prayer or prayer of the heart in which one tries to quietly sit and hear the Lord at the center of your heart, and journaling to God about your day, fears, and dreams.

2. Wear or Carry Something that is Religious with You. One of the greatest inventions in the world is the post-it note. We can write down something that we want to remember and post it in a place that we can see it and hopefully seeing the note will remind us of what we are supposed to be doing. In much the same way we can wear a cross or medal around our neck to remind us of our Christian identity. We may also carry a nail or a small cross in our pocket to remind us of how much God suffered for us in order to show us His love. Finally we may carry with us a rosary so that we are reminded to pray often and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is reported by those who knew Mother Teresa that she always carried a rosary in her hand and said it was a reminder to her that in all her work she was holding onto the hand of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

3. Pray in Public Another way to grow in our faith is to take the risk of praying in public for others to see. This might mean praying grace in a public restaurant or performing some type of public ministry at your parish. Many parishes have groups that pray the rosary before or after Mass. You may wish to become a liturgical minister and serve the people of God by being a lector, altar server, extraordinary minister, and/or greeter. Finally you may attend a prayer service in support of an issue for example praying in front of an abortion clinic or praying outside a prison before an execution.

4. Taking Time to Learn Something New Archbishop Fulton Sheen, a famous American Bishop about the time that radio was giving way to television, said the following: “There are not more than 100 people in the world who truly hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they perceive to be the Catholic Church.” Another priest I heard tell someone once, “Before you leave the Catholic Church make sure you know what you are giving up.” Our faith has a rich history and development and at the same time many people who want to tear it down. If we want to make an investment in our faith we should consider learning more about Sacred Scripture, Church History, Theology (revelation + the laws of logic), and devotions.

5. Perform Some Type of Service. Ultimately we must put our faith into action by serving others. I suggest performing one or more of the spiritual or corporal works of mercy on a regular basis. The 7 Corporal Works of Mercy 1. To feed the hungry 2. To give drink to the thirsty 3. To clothe the naked 4. To shelter the homeless 5. To visit the sick 6. To visit the imprisoned 7.To bury the dead

The 7 Spiritual Works of Mercy 1. To counsel the doubtful 2. To instruct the ignorant 3. To admonish the sinner 4. To comfort the sorrowful 5. To forgive all injuries 6. To bear wrongs patiently 7. To pray for the living and the dead

6. Take an Evangelical Risk Catholics in the United States still suffer to some extend from the fact that many of our ancestors came to the New World because Catholicism was illegal in England. Even in Maryland despite being founded by a Catholic, Catholics still found themselves as a minority and so Catholics practiced their faith very privately and almost secretively. Very few Catholics tried to spread their faith to their fellow Englishmen (great efforts were made to evangelize the Native Americans) for fear that their fellow Englishmen would arrest them and send them back to England to stand trial. Catholic in the United States therefore find it hard to share their faith with non-Catholics despite the fact that there is no official persecution of the Church going on. Sharing one’s faith though can be a great way to invest in your faith. I would suggest the following three challenges, explain your faith to someone who asks you why you are Catholic (or at least be prepared to), ask someone whom you admire about his or her faith, and finally volunteer to teach others about the Catholic faith as a catechist, sponsor, youth ministry team member, etc.

7. Join a Prayer Group. Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham in their book: The Spirituality of Imperfection: Storytelling and the Search for Meaning declares “stories as the language of spirituality.” By sharing one story with others and by praying for with others one can grow with leaps and bounds. Consider joining a Bible Study, Prayer Group, Accountability Group and/or a Prayer Chain.

8. Strive to Put Your Faith into Practice Gallup polling company did a poll of Christians who attended Sunday services and those who did not. They discovered that those who went to a Sunday service and those who did not answered all the dogma teachings exactly the same. For example a Catholic attending Mass on Sunday was just as likely to say that he or she believed in the Trinity as a Catholic who was not attending Mass on Sunday. What Gallup discovered was that there was a major difference in how people put their faith into practice. For example people who said that their faith had helped them forgive someone were more likely to attend a Sunday service of some sort than Christians who said that their faith had not helped them forgive someone. Here are four ideas of how you can put your faith into practice: forgive someone, help the poor, take an unpopular stand for your faith, and finally speak a word of kindness to someone.

9. Learn about the Saints The Catholic Church strives to help us grow in our faith by pointing out certain men and women who lived lives that make them role models for us. These men and women were by no way perfect but at the same time they grew closer to God through their daily struggle. The more we learn about the saints the more we can learn about what it really means to be holy and not what society tells us holiness means. I suggest learning about the Church Fathers, martyrs and some modern day saints.

10. Keep the Right Attitude. The last way to invest in your faith is to remember to keep the right attitude. Having an attitude of gratitude is so important. When we realize how blest we are how can we not want to know this God who gives us all these good things. Humility is also important because it helps us live in the real world. Pride makes us the center of the universe instead of God and self-hate makes us think that there is no way God could love us. Humility is knowing that we will make mistakes and that God loves unconditionally. Jesus reminds us to be truly like God we need to have a servant’s heart. Lastly we must remind ourselves that we are sinners but that is okay because Jesus came to save sinners.

03 The Dash

I have seen death stare at me with my own eyes in a way many cannot know I’ve seen death take others but still leave here below

I’ve heard many screams of mother cries but death has refused to hear In my life I have seen many faces with many, many tears

After death has come and gone, a tombstone sites for many to see But is serves no more than a symbol of a person’s memory

Under the person’s name it reads the date of birth-and the date the person passed But the more I think about the tombstone the only important thing is the dash

Yes, I see the name of the person but that I might forget I also read the date of birth and death, but even that might not stick

But thinking about the person, I can’t help but to remember the dash Because it represents a person’s life and that will always last

So when you begin to chart your life, make sure you are on a positive path Because people may forget your birth and death, but they will never forget your dash

- Alton Maiden (Notre Dame football player) from Lou Holtz’s Winning Every Day: The Game Plan for Success

04 Five Implications of Having Faith

I wish to ponder the idea of what the consequences of being a person of faith are. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (known going forward simply as the Catechism) states that there are five implications of being a person of faith. “Believing in God, the only One, and loving Him with all our being has enormous consequences for our whole life.” CCC222).

1. Becoming aware of God’s greatness and majesty Faith and religion is all about getting to know God on a personal level. In a strange way our Catholic faith is not interested in pleasing God for we do not offer sacrifices or performs our rituals in order to prevent God’s divine anger from flaring up and destroying us. All that we do in faith as Catholics is aimed at getting to know our God better and it is about establishing a relationship with this divine being who reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The more we pray (talk with Him), the more we meet His family and friends (go to Church), and work beside Him (Christian service) the more we realize that our God is an awesome God. It is sort of like having dinner with a celebrity and only afterwards realizing the person you had dinner with was famous.

2. Living in Gratitude As we grow in our relationship with God we begin to realize that without God we would have nothing. God is our ultimate benefactor for He has given us everything. Without Him we would not even exist. When we also realize that God has given us all these good things out of love and with no strings attached, there is only one response worthy of our response and that is gratitude. I have heard time and time again how formers St. Louis Rams’ and Phoenix Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner while out at dinner will chose another family at random and pay for their meal as well. Now, while he has never paid for my meal, I can only imagine that my only response to such a free gracious act on his part would be gratitude on mine if it were to happen to me. God has given us so much more and thus we should respond with ever greater gratitude to God for our many blessings.

3. Knowing the solidarity and true dignity of all people. “It means knowing the unity and true dignity of all men: Everyone is made in the image and likeness of God” (CCC 225). When you are in love with someone, things that remind you of that person begin to take on special meaning. For example, I have a small glass cup that my grandma used to use to make homemade biscuits. It is totally worthless to everyone else but it is priceless to me because it reminds me of my grandma. In the same way each person, because we are made in the image and likeness of God becomes important to us as we grow in love of God.

4. Making good use of Creation When we realize that everything ultimately comes from God and belongs to God, we come to realize that have an obligation to return it to God in good condition or to at least use it wisely. I would suggest looking at the 10 Commandments of How To Treat the Environment that was proclaimed by Vatican and can be found on my website www.mayjesuschristbepraised.com.

5. Trusting in God in every situation This is the most important implication of having faith in God but also the hardest for every time we fail to trust in God we do not only get ourselves in trouble because we have moved away from our true purpose in life but also we find ourselves proclaiming to others that we do not trust in God and thus become bad role models for those around us. The Catechism gives us this great little prayer from St. Teresa of Jesus (Avila): Let nothing trouble you, let nothing frighten you. Everything passes, God never changes. Patience, obtains all. Whoever has God, wants for nothing. God alone is enough.” (CCC227)

05 Waking Up

A young child was diagnosed with a terminal disease. The parents knew that he would die soon. The child as well knew that his death would be soon.

One night he was sitting in his mother's lap watching television with her. He looked up into her eyes and said, "Mommy does it hurt to die?"

The young mother was overcome with grief and had to leave the room for a moment to gather her emotions. She stood in the bathroom and prayed, "God what can I tell him?" She felt that the Lord gave her a word for him.

She went back into the room and said, "Honey do you remember how so many times you have fallen asleep in front of the television and then the next morning you wake up in your room? Well I will tell you what happens. When you go to sleep your father comes in and with his strong arms he picks you up and carries you into your room. And then the next thing you know you wake up in your room. Well, death is just like that. When you die, you fall asleep and Jesus Christ gathers you up in His strong arms and carries you to heaven. And then you wake up in another room!" --Unknown Author

06 Ten Rules of Life by Cardinal Van Thuan

These are ten golden rules to live an authentic Christian life1. I will live the present moment to the fullest.

2. I will discern between God and God’s works.

3. I will hold firmly to one secret: prayer.

4. I will see in the Holy Eucharist my only power.

5. I will have only one wisdom: the science of the Cross.

6. I will remain faithful to my mission in the Church and for the Church as a witness of Jesus Christ.

7. I will seek the peace the world cannot give.

8. I will carry out a revolution by renewal in the Holy Spirit.

9. I will speak one language and wear one uniform: Charity.

10. I will have one very special love: The Blessed Virgin Mary.

07 Discerning Between God and the Works of God

I will discern between God and God’s works Alone in my prison cell, I continued to be tormented by the fact that I was forty-eight years old, in the prime of my life, that I had worked for eight years as a bishop and gained so much pastoral experience and there I was isolated, inactive and far from my people... (1700km)

One night, from the depths of my heart I could hear a voice advising me: “Why torment yourself? You must discern between God and the works of God. Everything you have done and desire to continue to do, pastoral visits, training seminarians, sisters and members of religious orders, building schools, evangelizing non-Christians. All of that is excellent work, the work of God but it is not God! If God wants you to give lit up and put the work into his hands, do it and trust him. God will do the work infinitely better than you; he will entrust the work to others who are more able than you. You have only to choose God and not the works of God!”

This light totally changed my way of thinking. When the Communist put me in the hold of the boat, the HAI-PHONG along with 1500 other prisoners and moved us to the north, I said to myself, “here is my cathedral, here are the people God has given me to care for, here is my mission: to ensure the presence of God among these, my despairing, miserable brothers. It is God’s will that I am here. I accept his will”. And from that minute onwards, a new peace filled my heart and stayed with me for thirteen years.

- Cardinal Van Thuan

08 God the Artist

“If we have been pleased with life, we should not be displeased with death, since it comes from the same master artist.” - Michelangelo

09 Two Worlds And One God

A story is told about Rabbi Joseph Schneerson, a Hasidic leader during the early days of Russian Communism. The rabbi spent much time in jail, persecuted for his faith.

One morning in 1927, as he prayed in a Leningrad synagogue, secret police rushed in and arrested him. They took him to a police station and worked him over, demanding that he give up his religious activities. He refused. The interrogator brandished a gun in his face and said, "This little toy has made many a man change his mind."

Rabbi Schneerson answered, "This little toy can intimidate only that kind of man who has many gods and but one world. Because I have only one God and two worlds, I am not impressed by this little toy."